Gas turbine engines used in civil aviation must meet certain fire resistance standards for airworthiness certification purposes. Accordingly, many different fire prevention and/or fire-proofing systems exist. Oil and fuel systems are often particularly targeted by such fire prevention systems, in order to safeguard and control, or shut down, individual systems and/or the complete engine in the unlikely event that a fire condition is detected. It is particularly undesirable for fuel pumps and/or oil pumps of gas turbine engines to continue operating in the event of a fire condition, as this may increase the risk of the fire spreading or increasing in severity.
Most existing fire detection and mitigation systems for gas turbine engines use electric sensors placed in fire critical regions, and require other associated electric systems and/or electronics connected with these sensors. Such systems are therefore necessarily dependent upon electrical systems, including sensors and switches, for actuation.